Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader, Fifth Edition

Rating:
Summary: I Love This Reader
Review: I reread this wonderful collection of seminal works of political philosophy often. I used it in my course on ideology. Students will find it challenging to work through, if you assign selections indescriminantly. That is why this reader is meant to complement an equally wonderful textbook written by the same authors. The scope here is awe-inspiring. We begin with Euripides and Pericles in the ancient Greece and end with the latest crypto ideological movements, such as feminism, animal rights activism, green politics, and the end of history thesis. I think that all selections are enlightening. This should be a must book for anyone specializing in political theory, intellectual history, or anyone who wants to understand or effectively employ ideological rhetoric. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: A solid and strong collection of original works
Review: The editors have done a good job of including most of the major areas of western political thought of the last two thousand years. A bit skimpy on classical works, but well grounded in more contemporary times and the foundational thought of American and Western democratic ideals. The contents have been edited to ensure that the message is not lost in prose, and the average reader should be able to enjoy the readings, also getting a clear sense of what the original author intended to say. Aimed at the Higher Education market it is a little pricey, but a buy for the shelf of anyone interested in this subjecr area.